1. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Fiber Optics & Light Guides Presentation by: CGIE Cambridge Girls In Engineering July 1 st –August 2 nd, 2002

2. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Mia School:School: Cambridgeport School Age:Age: 13 yrs old Hobbies:Hobbies: Computer Games, Sports

3. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Lydia School:School: Martin Luther King School Age:Age: 13 yrs old Hobbies:Hobbies: Drawing & Painting

4. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Annie School:School: King Open School Age:Age: 14 yrs old Hobbies:Hobbies: Dancing, Swimming, and Basketball

5. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Ashlee School:School: King Open School Age:Age: 14 yrs old Hobbies:Hobbies: Swimming, Singing, volleyball,

6. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Laurie School:School: Cambridgeport School Age:Age: 12 yrs old Hobbies:Hobbies: Playing the piano, listening to music, shopping, and writing

7. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Overview of Presentation Basic knowledge, use, and structure of fiber optics and light guides – how they work, pros/cons, applications, etc. Group project – deciding on ideas, prototypes, ordering, building, etc. Final Exhibit

8. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 What Are Fiber Optics? Long, thin strands Glass/Plastic Diameter of a human hair Come in bundles Able to transmit signals or images over long distances

9. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 What are Light Guides? Long rods that come in different shapes and sizes Glass/ plastics able to transmit light Some are flexible Work like fiber optics

10. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Differences Between Fiber Optics and Light Guides Light Guide- long, variety of different diameters, do not concentrate light as well as fiber optics Fiber Optics- small, thin, transmit light more efficiently, flexible

11. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Basic Structure of Fiber Optics and Light Guides * Layer one: Jacket or Buffer Coating *Layer two: Cladding *Layer three: Core

12. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 How Do They Work The core has a higher index of refraction than the cladding The light travels through the core by constant reflection from the cladding

13. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Advantages & Disadvantages of Fiber Optics Advantages Lightweight Non-flammable Flexible Carry signals more efficiently than traditional methods Disadvantages Break easily Small & hard to detect Expensive

14. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Advantages & Disadvantages of Light Guides Advantages: More durable Light travels through Less expensive Available in different sizes Disadvantages: Scratches easily Some are breakable Light can get lost if scratched too much

15. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Applications of Fiber Optics Medical instruments Communications networks Computers and printers

16. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Where did Fiber Optics come from? In the late 1800’s scientist John Tyndall found using an illuminated tank, light could travel through a curved stream After years of experimenting, he found that light and images were able to be carried through glass rods

17. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 How We Decided on Fiber Optics and Light Guides We were going to use lasers and mirrors to reflect light through a maze It was suggested that we do something with fiber optics We did research and found out about light guides We brainstormed ideas

18. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Exhibit Ideas Our ideas were: Spider Girl Teddy Bear Medusa’s Head Alphabet Spaghetti Maze

19. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Spider Girl

20. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Teddy Bear

21. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Medusa’s Head

22. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Spaghetti Maze

23. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Final Decision We decided to do the spaghetti maze as our main project New title for the exhibit: “Light It Up”

24. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Prototypes

25. What is “Light It Up”? Various fiber optics and light guides shaped with bends and curves Users of the exhibit shine the light in one end and see where it comes out Putting colored filters in front of the light changes how it looks coming out of the other end This exhibit shows how light travels through fiber optics and light guides

26. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Discussions

27. Experiments Different lengths & diameters of light guides Different light sources – flashlights vs. LEDs Bending light guides with different heat sources – stove vs. blowtorch Filters / colors

28. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Problems We Came Across What kind of lights are we going to use? –How powerful will they be? –How will the lights be set up? What diameter of the light guides are we using? What are the dimensions of the exhibit? What is the cost of the materials? Are the light guides strong enough to carry the light?

29. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 More Issues Light cannot travel through a 30 foot long light guide Maximum length of each light guide is 6 feet Different frustrations with team dynamics

30. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Ordering Materials Different types of light guides & fiber optics Lights (LED & reflectors) Color Filters Wire for prototype Light switches

31. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002Budget Total Estimated Cost = $1703.02

32. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Lets Do It!

33. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Final Exhibit: Light It Up

34. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 SPECIAL THANKS to…

35. CGIE Girls Get Set 2002 Questions?